One of several message of love and support on large murals for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe placed on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Thousands of people came for Howe's public visitation inside the arena
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Jock Rodgers, 65 of Winnipeg, Canada looks around as he waits in line before 9 am before he and others were let in for the Gordie Howe visitation and viewing inside Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Rodgers is attending his second viewing in a week of sports legends. He was most recently in Louisville, Kentucky attending the funeral for Muhammad Ali.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Mourners and NHL fans pay their respects to legendary hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe at his visitation at Joe Louis Arena June 14, 2016 in Detroit Michigan. Howe was known as "Mr. Hockey", played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years, and scored 801 goals in his career. His funeral service will be held June 15 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.
Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

One of several message of love and support on large murals for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe placed on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Thousands of people came for Howe's public visitation inside the arena
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Fans line up to pay their respects to Gordie Howe, the man known as Mr. Hockey, at Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings NHL team, his team for much of his Hall of Fame career, Tuesday, June 14, 2016 in Detroit.
Carlos Osorio, AP

Robert Kingscott, 54 of Grosse Pointe, Michigan writes a message on one of the two large murals on the side of Joe Louis Arena for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe as his public visitation was going on inside Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

One of several message of love and support on large murals for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe placed on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Thousands of people came for Howe's public visitation inside the arena
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Mourners and NHL fans pay their respects to Mark Howe, son of legendary hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, at Gordie Howe's visitation at Joe Louis Arena June 14, 2016 in Detroit Michigan. Howe was known as "Mr. Hockey", played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years, and scored 801 goals in his career.
Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

Wearing an old Detroit Viper hockey jersey from the mid 1980's, Gary Kamensack, 60 of Detroit, signs one of two large murals put up on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan as the Gordie Howe public visitation went on inside on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

One of several message of love and support on large murals for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe placed on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Thousands of people came for Howe's public visitation inside the arena
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

One of several message of love and support on large murals for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe placed on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Thousands of people came for Howe's public visitation inside the arena
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

One of several message of love and support on large murals for Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe placed on the side of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Thousands of people came for Howe's public visitation inside the arena
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Mark Howe meets with well-wishers as they pay their respects to Gordie Howe, the man known as Mr. Hockey, at Joe Louis Arena, the home of the Detroit Red Wings NHL team, his team for much of his Hall of Fame career, Tuesday, June 14, 2016 in Detroit.
Carlos Osorio, AP

Legendary hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe lies in repose at Joe Louis Arena during his visitation June 14, 2016 in Detroit Michigan. Howe was known as "Mr. Hockey", played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years, and scored 801 goals in his career.
Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

Mourners and NHL fans pay their respects to family of legendary hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe at his visitation at Joe Louis Arena June 14, 2016 in Detroit Michigan. Howe was known as "Mr. Hockey", played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years, and scored 801 goals in his career. His funeral service will be held June 15 at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.
Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

Mourners and NHL fans pay their respects to Kathy Howe, daughter of legendary hockey Hall of Famer Gordie Howe, at Gordie Howe's visitation at Joe Louis Arena June 14, 2016 in Detroit Michigan. Howe was known as "Mr. Hockey", played for the Detroit Red Wings for 25 years, and scored 801 goals in his career. His funeral service will be held tomorrow, June 15, at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit.
Bill Pugliano, Getty Images

NHL hockey legend Wayne Gretzky talks to the media about how much Gordie Howe meant to hockey after he paid his respects to Mr. Hockey during the public visitation at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Fred Rutherford, 63 of London, Ontario, Canada, takes pictures of the Gordie Howe statue on the West entrance of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan after he paid his respects to Mr. Hockey during the public visitation inside the arena on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Fans line up outside of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan to go inside and pay their respects to Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe who passed away on June 10th.
The public was allowed to walk by the casket during the 12 hour visitation inside the arena.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

Flowers, candles and a hockey puck with a message from a family named the McFarlands, sit near the Gordie Howe statue by the West entrance of Joe Louis Arena in Detroit on Tuesday, June 14, 2016.
Eric Seals/Detroit Free Press

FILE - This 1956 file photo shows Detroit Red Wings hockey player Gordie Howe. Howe, the hockey great who set scoring records that stood for decades, has died. He was 88. Son Murray Howe confirmed the death Friday, June 10, 2016, texting to The Associated Press: "Mr Hockey left peacefully, beautifully, and w no regrets." (AP Photo/File)(Photo: Uncredited, AP)

Those Hockey Hall of Famers and the rest of the players who won an NHL championship from 1954-65 are being stripped off the Stanley Cup this spring to create room for a new layer of names without making the trophy too big to be skated around the ice by the winning captain or checked on an airplane for its next journey.

"People in Saskatchewan are a little upset Gordie's name is coming off, but that's the tradition," said Mike Bolt, one of the Hall of Fame staffers assigned to escort the Cup around the world. "It can't get any bigger. ... We wouldn't be able to do what we do."

Perhaps the most iconic trophy in sports, the Stanley Cup is unique among major prizes because the NHL passes it from team to team instead of producing a new one for every champion. It's also the only one that includes the name of every player to win it in each season — though the names come and go.

Since it was first donated in 1892 by Lord Stanley, the governor general of Canada, the Cup has grown from a 7-inch-high bowl to a 3-foot trophy more the size of a large wedding cake, with three small layers under the original bowl and five more bands under that that fit about 13 years of champions apiece.

(Photo: The Associated Press)

The top one of those bands, honoring much of Toe Blake's Montreal Canadiens dynasty and three of Punch Imlach's four titles in Toronto, will be removed in a matter of weeks. It will be flattened and displayed along with two previously retired rings — covering the 1927-40 and '41-53 championship teams — at the Hall of Fame in Toronto. (In place of the name-by-name listing, teams are engraved on the upper rings).

The process will need to be repeated every 13 years, meaning a player's name lasts on the Cup a maximum of 65 years.

"I run into some of the older timers, like from the '70s, even the '80s. They're always like, 'Hey, Mike. How many years have I got left on the Cup?'" Bolt said. "Some guys start doing the math, 'Oh, I won't be around anyway.' But if you win it when you're young, you're going to be around when your name comes off."

On tour to promote the start of the NHL playoffs April 11, Bolt stopped at The Associated Press bureau in Boston this week after visiting a children's hospital and before going to a hockey arena to surprise another group of kids. He dons white gloves and unsnaps the latches to reveal the Cup in its form-fitting, blue velvet travel sanctuary.

The black base is chipped and dinged from years of celebrations by joyous champions. There are also a few misspellings, and one name is crossed out. Still, seeing the trophy remains a thrill for many fans; earning a spot on it is the ultimate goal for every NHL player who has ever laced up a pair of skates.

"That's the best part of the job, watching the reaction. That's one of the things that does not get old," said Bolt, who accompanies the Cup on its travels for the traditional summer tour that allows every player on the winning team to spend a day with it — often in his hometown, no matter where on the globe he grew up.

"I've seen grown men cry; They can't believe they are this close to it," Bolt said. "It's like a celebrity. Everybody's always happy when the Cup's around."

Players like Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and Maurice "Rocket" Richard might not have known that their immortality has an expiration date, but modern players realize getting one's name on the Cup isn't forever any more.

Chicago Blackhawks left wing Bobby Hull smiles in the dressing room after defeating the Detroit Red Wings to win the Stanley Cup in Detroit on April 16, 1961.(Photo: The Associated Press)

"We knew it's going to be there for about 40 years," said Patrice Bergeron, a member of the Boston Bruins' 2011 championship team who is hoping to extend his time on the Cup with another title this year. "It's still pretty special."

Brad Marchand, who also won it all in 2011, was consoled by the knowledge that the band with his name will go on permanent display at the Hall of Fame after it is removed.
"You can't take away the fact that we won," he said. "We'll still have all the memories."

AP Sports Writer Teresa Walker contributed to this story from Nashville, Tennessee.